1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a technology for rotating a display for use in a vehicle.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, a display that includes a touch panel or the like is installed in a vehicle to display map images or others for a navigation apparatus installed in the vehicle. On this display, a user (mainly a driver) can know his/her current position by referring to the display map and make operations on the touch panel to enter his/her destination. Since the display is normally in a sideways rectangle, an image in any type of its contents for display needs to be processed to meet such a shape. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2010-143401 discloses a technology that sets a display by rotating the display to a position appropriate to an image for display, in a vertically-long position or a horizontally-long position.
However, since the technology disclosed by Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2010-143401 rotates the display around a fixed rotation shaft, the position of the outer frame of the display, especially the vertical position of the upper side of the outer frame, varies before and after the rotation. Therefore, when the user views the displayed image after the rotation on the rotated display in a vehicle likewise, the user has to move his/her eyes a distance before and after the rotation; the displayed image is not easily visible for the user. This has been the issue to be solved. Moreover, in some cases, when the display in the horizontally-long position is rotated to the vertically-long position, the display may block the air outlet of an air conditioner or driver's eyesight.